The location was conveniently half way between Selfridge field (now Selfridge Air National Guard Base) and Morrow field in Northwest Detroit (now the aptly named Aviation Subdivision neighborhood in Detroit, just west of Wyoming and south of Tireman roads). It was also a testing ground for Packard-built aircraft engines. When it came to flying planes Packard Field was reportedly the best place to be around, and it was built as a place of experimentation for private and government projects. The area that was mostly farmland is now heavily suburbanized and filled with mostly small two and three bedroom homes. Things sometimes do get sketchy after nearly 100 years of time passes. That doesn’t mean planes didn’t fly from there at an earlier date before it was named “Packard Field.” We just couldn’t find a record of it. ![]() The 1919 date is also corroborated by press accounts from the time. That place is Michigan’s first commercial airport, Packard Field.īest as we can find, contrary to what’s on the marker Packard Field opened in 1919 in Erin Township (part of which is now Roseville).Īs a double check, looking at available 1916 maps of the area, there is no reference to an air field of any sort and the land was subdivided and held by multiple owners. That historic place ties in not only aviation, but one of Detroit’s iconic and long gone manufacturers, Packard. ![]() When you drive down Gratiot Avenue in Roseville, there’s a monument just past Frazho road that would be very easy to miss.Īfter all, it’s painted green – the same as the surrounding bushes.Īn important piece of Detroit area history was erased by a strip mall with the “greatest ratio” of parking to store area in the nation as a selling point in 1954.
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